Ultrasonic flow meter

ABSTRACT

A flow meter ultrasonically measures fluid velocity in a pipe and ultrasonically transmits fluid flow data along the pipe. An ultrasonic transducer used for fluid velocity measurement may optionally also be used for communication of flow data, and optionally, the ultrasonic frequency for fluid velocity measurement may be the same as the ultrasonic frequency for communication of flow data.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/860,409 filed Apr. 10, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/623,229 filed Apr. 12, 2012, which arehereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

For many water and gas utilities, water and gas meters are mechanical,and they are typically read manually once a month. Water and gasutilities are transitioning toward automated measurement andcommunication of water and gas usage. There is a need for improvedelectronic water and gas meters with automatic communication of usage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of apipeline system for distributing a fluid or gas.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating additional detail for a pipejoint (illustrated in FIG. 1) with an ultrasonic metering system.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an example embodiment of a network of flowmeters.

FIG. 3B is a timeline illustrating an example embodiment of timemultiplexed communications in the network of flow meters of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One known technology for measuring fluid velocity is ultrasound.Ultrasound velocity meters may be attached externally to pipes, andfluid velocity may be measured by time of flight of an ultrasonic signalthrough the fluid, or by measuring the ultrasonic Doppler effect, or byother ultrasound signal processing techniques. Fluid flow may bemeasured by multiplying fluid velocity by the interior area of a pipe.Cumulative fluid volume may be measured by integrating fluid flow overtime. Separately, there have been studies using ultrasound tocommunicate through water pipes. In general, these are independenttechniques. That is, the ultrasound parameters (for example, frequency)for a transducer optimized for fluid velocity measurement are typicallynot optimal for communication and vice versa. In the followingdiscussion, a metering system may use the same ultrasonic transducersfor both fluid velocity measurement and for communication. Optionally,the metering system may also detect leaks, pipe corrosion, and cracks ina pipe. Optionally, the metering system may also receive a wireless orultrasonic time-synchronization signal.

FIG. 1 illustrates a pipeline system 100 for delivering a fluid (forexample, water or natural gas). In FIG. 1, a main distribution pipe 102delivers a fluid to branch pipes 104 and 106 that need to be metered. Inthe example of FIG. 1, flow meters are built into T-junctions 108 and110. For example, a flow meter built into T-junction 108 measures theflow of fluid into pipe 104. Note that a T-junction is used only as anexample and the flow meters may be installed within a pipe, within othertypes of junctions, or externally.

The pipeline system 100 may be located, for example, in a utility tunnelin the interior of a building or in the basement of a building.Alternatively, the pipeline system 100 may be located, for example, inan underground conduit or utility tunnel, perhaps under a street orwithin a utility right-of-way. Alternatively, the pipeline system 100may be buried underground, for example, within a suburban neighborhood,or in a turf sprinkler system or other irrigation system. In general,the pipeline system 100 may be located such that electroniccommunication and in particular wireless communication from flow metersalong the pipeline system 100 may be difficult at times. In particular,attenuation of wireless signals inside the ground is 20-30 dB/m,depending on moisture content. As will be described in more detailbelow, metering data in the example pipeline system 100 may be relayedpoint-to-point along the pipe 102 until eventually reaching acommunications system that can communicate aggregate metering data to autility company. In the example of FIG. 1, each flow meter cancommunicate with at least one other flow meter, or with a communicationssystem. For example, the flow meter in T-junction 108 may transmit itsmetering data along pipe 102 to the flow meter in T-junction 110. Theflow meter in T-junction 110 in turn may act as a relay, transmittingthe metering data from the T-junction 108, along with its own meteringdata, further along the distribution pipe 102. This may continue fromflow meter to flow meter until at some point, aggregate flow data issent to a utility company. In FIG. 1, element 112 (which may be a flowmeter, or it may just be an ultrasonic communications link) receivesmetering data from at least one flow meter and sends that data to acommunications system 114. The communications system 114 may then sendaggregate metering data wirelessly, or over telephone land lines, orover a computer network such as the Internet, to a utility company. Notethat in the example of FIG. 1, the flow meters are depicted as beingarranged along a single linear pipeline 102. In general however, theflow meters and pipes may be configured in a mesh network topology,where one flow meter may act as a relay for multiple neighboring flowmeters and communicate the aggregate information to subsequent flowmeters. In addition, optional communications repeaters (not illustrated)may be used where flow meters are spaced too far apart formeter-to-meter communication.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross section of an example embodiment of aT-junction (FIG. 1, 108, 110) that includes an ultrasonic flow meter200. In the example of FIG. 2, two ultrasonic transducers 202 and 204are attached to the inside wall of the T-junction. The two ultrasonictransducers 202 and 204 are connected through the wall of the T-junctionto a controller 212. Controller 212 contains driver circuitry andreceiver circuitry for the ultrasonic transducers, a microprocessor ormicrocontroller, and at least one battery 214. Additional optionalultrasonic transducers and communications elements will be describedlater below.

In the example of FIG. 2, the ultrasonic transducers 202 and 204 areplaced inside the walls of the pipe. Alternatively, they may be placedoutside the walls. However, in the case of water, the signal strength inwater for direct transducer-water interface may be up to three orders ofmagnitude greater than the signal strength resulting from an ultrasonictransducer external to a metal pipe wall, and up to six orders ofmagnitude greater than the signal strength resulting from an ultrasonictransducer external to a plastic pipe wall. In the example of FIG. 2,the two ultrasonic transducers 202 and 204 are placed on the same sideof the pipe. Alternatively, ultrasonic transducers may be placed onopposite walls. There may be more than two ultrasonic transducersarranged in a variety of three-dimensional topologies. There also may beacoustic reflecting surfaces.

The ultrasonic transducers may alternate roles as transmitter andreceiver for measuring fluid velocity. For example, ultrasonictransducer 202 may transmit and ultrasonic transducer 204 may receive,and then ultrasonic transducer 204 may transmit and ultrasonictransducer 204 may receive. Controller 212 may measure thetime-of-flight of the ultrasonic pressure waves from the transmitter tothe receiver. Flowing fluid in the pipe will cause the down-streamtime-of-flight to be slightly different than the up-stream time offlight, and that slight difference may be used to measure the velocityof the fluid. Time-of-flight may be measured directly by measuring thetime from when a signal is transmitted until a signal is received. Thismay be achieved by a zero-crossing detector that gets triggered by asignal-level threshold. The zero-crossing detector may be implementedusing a time-to-digital converter (TDC). However, the received signalmay be noisy, causing some timing inaccuracy due to the signal-levelthreshold. Alternatively, an analog-to-digital converter may be used toquantize and store the whole waveform. Then, cross-correlation may beused to measure how much one waveform is shifted in time relative toanother waveform. The transmitted waveform may be cross-correlated withthe received waveform, which uses the entire waveforms and thereforedoes not depend on just the signal level of the leading portion of thereceived waveform.

In addition to measuring fluid velocity, one of the ultrasonictransducers (202, 204) may be used to transmit data along the pipes toanother flow meter or to a communications system. One of the ultrasonictransducers (which may be the same as the one used for datatransmission) may be used to receive data from another flow meter. Theultrasonic pressure waves will travel along the fluid/pipe system. Thatis, the signal may travel by bulk wave propagation in the fluid and inthe wall of the pipe. Experiments have shown that signal strength goesdown if the signal is blocked from traveling in the fluid but is allowedto travel within the wall of the pipe, and the signal strength goes downeven more if the signal is blocked from traveling within the wall of thepipe but is allowed to travel just within the fluid.

An ultrasound transducer (202, 204) may be used for measuring fluidvelocity and also for data communication. For accurate measurement offluid or gas velocity, especially at low velocities, a high ultrasoundfrequency is needed (>1 MHz). Typically, ultrasound transducers have aresonant frequency and they can be operated only at frequencies close totheir resonant frequency. Fluids attenuate ultrasound signals more athigher frequencies than at lower frequencies. Typically, for ultrasoniccommunication, low frequencies (for example, 40 KHz) are used tomaximize communication distance. Typically, an ultrasonic transducerintended for operation at frequencies over 1 MHz would not be suitablefor operation at 40 KHz. However, a network of flow meters in a buildingor even in a suburban area may be spaced sufficiently close together toenable a high frequency to be used for both fluid velocity measurementand for communication. With an ultrasound transducer being operated at1.3 MHz for both velocity measurement and communication, and with thetransducer directly coupled to water, communication distances of 20-30meters for water in a galvanized iron pipe are feasible. In general,ultrasound signals are stronger in water than in air or gas, andultrasound signals are stronger in metal pipes than in plastic pipes.Communication distances for gas, or for polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipesmay be less than communication distances for water in a galvanized pipe.Ultrasonic repeaters may be used where necessary. Alternatively, wherenecessary, communication distances may also be extended substantially byusing a separate lower frequency transducer for communication. In FIG.2, an optional separate ultrasonic transducer 206 is used just forcommunication at a frequency lower than the frequency used by theultrasonic transducers 202 and 204 used for fluid velocity measurement.

If the same frequency is used for flow measurement and forcommunication, then time multiplexing may be needed to avoidinterference between flow measurement and communication, and to ensurethat flow meters do not transmit simultaneously. FIGS. 3A and 3Billustrate an example of time multiplexing. In FIG. 3A, an examplenetwork 300 of flow meters has six flow meters, numbered 1-6. Flowmeters 3 and 6 transmit aggregate flow data to a communications system302. FIG. 3B illustrates a time line of data transmission and fluid flowmeasurement. Time intervals are designated as T1 through T11. Duringeach odd-numbered time interval, data communication takes place. Duringeach even-numbered time interval, the flow meters measure fluid flow.During time interval T1, flow meter 1 transmits its flow data to flowmeter 2. During time interval T3, flow meter 2 transmits its flow data,along with the flow data from flow meter 1, to flow meter 3. During timeinterval T5, flow meter 3 transmits its flow data, along with the flowdata from flow meters 1 and 2, to the communications system 302.Likewise, data from flow meter 4 to flow meter 5 is transmitted duringtime interval T7, aggregate data from flow meter 5 is transmitted toflow meter 6 during time interval T9, and aggregate data from flow meter6 is transmitted to the communications system 302 during time intervalT11. After time interval T11 the communications system 302 transmitsaggregate data from all six flow meters to a utility company.

At least coarse time synchronization between flow meters may have to beimplemented so that each flow meter will measure flow during timesallocated for measurement and each flow meter will transmit or receivedata during times allocated for communication. When the flow meters arefirst installed the internal clocks used by the microprocessors ormicrocontrollers may be sufficiently accurate for time-multiplexedcommunication for some period of time. However, as will be discussedfurther below, the batteries for the flow meters are expected to lastfor more than ten years, so eventually some automatic timesynchronization may be required. For example, periodically (for example,once a week or once a month), the time-multiplexed meter-to-metercommunication depicted in FIG. 3B may be reversed and a timesynchronization marker may be sent during the communication timeintervals. For example, during time interval T11 the communicationssystem 302 may send a time marker to flow meter 6, and flow meter 6 mayadjust its internal clock to synchronize to the time marker. During timeinterval T9, flow meter 6 may then send a time marker to flow meter 5and flow meter 5 may adjust its internal clock, and so forth.

Alternatively, wireless radio-frequency (RF) signals may be used forsynchronization. The battery operated flow meters need to be low power,so it may be impractical for a flow meter to transmit a high-powerwireless RF signal through structures or through the ground. However, itmay be practical for a flow-meter to receive a wireless RF signal from ahigh-power transmitter, even if the signal has been attenuated bystructures or by the ground. A high-power transmitter may be connectedto an AC main, and may be located above ground or in a building, and cantransmit at a much higher power than a battery powered flow meter. Thehigh-power transmitter may be used only for time synchronization of theflow meters. In FIG. 2, the controller 212 may optionally include awireless RF receiver 216 for time synchronization. In FIG. 3A, dashedlines 304 depict a time synchronization signal from the communicationssystem 302 to each flow meter. During some time intervals dedicated forcommunication, perhaps staggered in time, the communications system 302may send a wireless RF time-synchronization signal. Each flow meter maythen periodically listen for the wireless RF time synchronization signalduring the appropriate communications time intervals.

Ultrasound communications may use any of the techniques used byelectronic communication for transmitting data by modulating a carrierfrequency. Examples include Frequency Shift Keying (FSK), Binary PhaseShift Keying (BPSK), and Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK).Redundancy and error correction codes may be included to reducetransmission errors.

A typical measurement cycle for automatic water and gas metering is oneflow measurement every two seconds with an averaging over 20 seconds.For an ultrasonic flow meter with communication as in FIG. 2, fluidvolume measurements may be summed, and a total fluid volume measurementperformed over a few minutes, or a day, or a week, or a month may becommunicated to the utility company. Given the relatively infrequentmeasurement activity and communication activity, the average current isvery low, and it is feasible to power a flow meter for more than twentyyears from a battery without recharging. In particular, a 3.0 Amp-hourbattery may be sufficient to power an ultrasound flow meter for abouttwenty years. There are commercially available AA 2.4 Amp-hourLithium-based batteries that have proven lifetimes that are greater thanten years at average current levels that are greater than the currentrequired by an ultrasound-based flow meter. Given the very low averagecurrent requirements of an ultrasound-based flow meter, two parallelcommercially available long-life low-current batteries should have morethan enough capacity for a lifetime substantially greater than tenyears.

Ultrasonic flow meters with frequent communication enable detection ofproblems that may not be detected with meters that are checkedinfrequently. For example, two flow meters on the same pipe may be usedfor leak detection. If flow is higher at an up-stream meter compared toa down-stream meter then fluid may be leaking out somewhere between themeters. As another example, flow in a pipe dedicated to an overhead firesuppression system may indicate that overhead sprinklers are flowing,possibly indicating a fire and/or imminent water damage. As anotherexample, flow in an irrigation system for a long period of time or at anunusual time may indicate a leak or a broken pipe. Similarly, anunusually high flow rate over a long period of time during freezingweather may indicate a pipe that has burst from freezing.

Given the proper wavelength and incidence angle for the ultrasonicsignal, the interior and exterior surfaces of the wall of a pipe may actas an acoustic waveguide, where guided waves may travel long distanceswithout substantial attenuation. These guided waves depend onconstructive interference of reflections from the surfaces of the wallsof the pipe. Just as an electrical impedance mismatch in an electricalwaveguide results in an electrical signal reflection, an acousticimpedance mismatch in an acoustic waveguide results in an acousticsignal reflection. In particular, a small crack in the wall of the pipewill result in a partially reflected signal, and a rough corrodedsurface will result in many small reflected signals. A transducer maytransmit a signal, and then measure the resulting reflections. The timefor a large reflection to return to the transducer may be used as ameasure of distance to a discontinuity in the pipe wall, such as acrack. Overall noise level in the reflected signals over multipletransit times may be used as a measure of corrosion. Alternatively,shortly after installation of a flow meter, the flow meter may store acalibration profile of reflected signal strength as a function of time.Then, periodically, the reflection profile may be measured again andcompared to the calibration profile. Significant changes in the profilemay indicate corrosion or cracks. In FIG. 2, an optional transducer 208is mounted on a wedge 210 to induce ultrasound waveforms at the properincidence angle for guided waves for corrosion measurement and crackdetection.

In general, guided waves travel longer distances than the bulk wavepropagation discussed earlier, so an ultrasonic transducer used forguided waves may also be used for communication over longer distances. Aspecific type of waveform is needed for guided waves, and this waveformmay be modulated for communication between transducers.

Alternatively, in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic transducers 202 and 204 maycomprise transducer arrays. Ultrasound transducers may comprise an arrayof very small elements mounted onto very thin membranes, where each areaof the array has a very high resonant frequency. Examples includePiezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasound Transducers (PMUT) and CapacitiveMicromachined Ultrasound Transducers (CMUT). One dimension of eachresonant area may be on the order of 10's of micrometers, and theresonant frequency may be a few MHz. In general, the incidence anglerequired for guided waves is different than the reflection angle neededfor fluid velocity measurement. However, using phased excitation,ultrasound arrays may be used to transmit an ultrasound wave in acontrolled direction. Ultrasound arrays may steer an ultrasound wave inone direction for fluid velocity measurement, and in a differentdirection for guided waves for corrosion measurement, crack detection,and communication. Therefore, ultrasound arrays may be used for fluidvelocity measurement, and for guided waves for corrosion measurement andcrack detection, and for ultrasonic guided wave communication, all atthe same frequency.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for measuring fluid flow andcommunicating the fluid flow data. At step 402, an ultrasonic flow metermeasures fluid flow in a pipe. At step 404, the ultrasonic flow metercommunicates flow data with at least one other flow meter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A flow meter comprising: a controller; a firsttransducer coupled to the controller to transmit first acoustic waves ata first frequency; a second transducer coupled to the controller toreceive the first acoustic waves transmitted by the first transducer;and a third transducer coupled to the controller to transmit secondacoustic waves at a second frequency different from the first frequency,the second acoustic waves representing data that includes a flow ratemeasurement, wherein the flow rate measurement is determined by thecontroller in response to the receiving of the first acoustic waves bythe second transducer.
 2. The flow meter of claim 1, wherein the secondfrequency is lower than the first frequency.
 3. The flow meter of claim1, wherein the first frequency is an ultrasonic frequency.
 4. The flowmeter of claim 1, wherein the first frequency is approximately 1.3 MHz.5. The flow meter of claim 1, wherein the second frequency isapproximately 40 KHz.
 6. The flow meter of claim 1, comprising a fourthtransducer coupled to the controller to transmit third acoustic waves atan incidence angle.
 7. An integrated circuit (IC) device comprising:memory to store program instructions; controller to execute the programinstructions stored in the memory to: cause first acoustic waves to betransmitted at a first frequency; determine a flow rate measurementbased on the first acoustic waves; and cause second acoustic waves to betransmitted at a second frequency that is less than the first frequency,the second acoustic waves containing data that includes the flow ratemeasurement.
 8. The IC device of claim 7, wherein the controllerincludes driver circuitry to cause the first acoustic waves to betransmitted.
 9. The IC device of claim 8, wherein the controllerincludes receiver circuitry to cause the transmitted first acousticwaves to be received, wherein the flow rate measurement is determinedbased at least partly on the receipt of the first acoustic waves. 10.The IC device of claim 9, wherein the driver circuity includes aninterface configured to be coupled to a first ultrasonic transducer,wherein causing the first acoustic waves to be transmitted at the firstfrequency includes causing the driving circuitry to output a firstsignal via the interface.
 11. The IC device of claim 10, wherein thereceiver circuitry includes an interface configured to be coupled to asecond ultrasonic transducer to receive the first acoustic waves. 12.The IC device of claim 10, wherein the interface of the driver circuitryis also coupled to a second ultrasonic transducer, and wherein causingthe second acoustic waves to be transmitted at the second frequencyincludes causing the driving circuitry to output a second signal via theinterface.
 13. The IC device of claim 7, wherein the first frequency isgreater than 1 MHz.
 14. The IC device of claim 7, wherein the secondfrequency is approximately 40 KHz.
 15. A system comprising: acommunication system; and a flow meter network including a plurality offlow meters, wherein each flow meter is connected to at least one otherflow meter via piping, and wherein the plurality of flow meters isconfigured to transmit flow rate measurement information to thecommunication system by transmitting ultrasonic waves into a wall of thepiping.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein at least one flow metercommunicates with at least one other flow meter in a time multiplexedmanner under control of the communication system.
 17. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the communications system is configured to receive,from the piping, the transmitted ultrasonic wave, wherein thetransmitted ultrasonic waves represent aggregate flow rate measurementinformation from all of the plurality of flow meters of the flow meternetwork.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein the communications systemis configured to send time synchronization data to at least one of theflow meters of the plurality of flow meters.